Episodes
The Salt Path was the supposed bestseller debut book by Raynor Winn, selling millions worldwide. So when two more sequels came along with increasingly bold claims on reversing a terminal illness, why did the publisher Penguin not question it more? Chloe also goes on the hunt for Raynor Winn’s fourth book…her true debut written years before The Salt Path.Credits:Reporter - Chloe HadjimatheouProducer - Matt RussellArtwork - Observer design with acknowledgements to Angela HardingMusic supervision - Karla PatellaSound design - Tom BurchellExecutive Producer - Jasper Corbett Hosted on Acast. Se...
At a motorway service station, Chloe meets someone close to Raynor Winn who’s nervous about coming forward. It turns out she’s another character from The Salt Path…and she’s Raynor Winn’s niece. And she’s not turned up empty handed…Credits:Reporter - Chloe HadjimatheouProducer - Matt RussellArtwork - Observer design with acknowledgements to Angela HardingMusic supervision and sound design - Karla PatellaExecutive Producer - Jasper Corbett Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In the aftermath of her initial investigation, Chloe hears from a close family member of Moth’s. The story is one of deep divides…and another theft. But it takes her one step closer to understanding who Moth and Raynor Winn really are.Credits: Reporter - Chloe HadjimatheouProducer - Matt RussellMusic supervision - Karla PatellaSound design - Rowan BishopExecutive Producer - Jasper CorbettSubscribe to Observer+ on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to binge listen to the entire series.To find out more about The Observer:Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content...
Moth is suffering from a rare and terminal illness: corticobasal degeneration. Life expectancy rarely extends beyond eight years. But almost two decades after his diagnosis, Moth is still defying the odds. Has he discovered the secret to a medical miracle?Subscribe to Observer+ on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to binge listen to the entire series.To find out more about The Observer:Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentHead to our website observer.co.uk Credits:Reporter - Chloe HadjimatheouAdditional reporting - James UrquhartProducer - Matt RussellSou...
When the television cameras come to a heritage cider farm in Devon, Moth and Raynor Winn take centre stage. Within weeks, they vanished. The farm’s owner, their friend, is left to piece together the disparity between what he’d witnessed…and what Raynor Winn had written about.Subscribe to Observer+ on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to binge listen to the entire series.To find out more about The Observer:Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentHead to our website observer.co.uk Credits:Reporter - Chloe HadjimatheouProducer - Matt RussellArtwork: Observer de...
With question marks now raised over how The Salt Path began, Chloe Hadjimatheou starts to track down other characters from the book. Did Raynor Winn and Moth ever walk the path the way they claimed?Subscribe to Observer+ on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to binge listen to the entire series.To find out more about The Observer:Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentHead to our website observer.co.uk Credits:Reporter - Chloe HadjimatheouAdditional reporting - James UrquhartProducer - Matt RussellArtwork: Observer design with acknowledgements to Angela Hard...
In a small town in north Wales, an alleged theft at a local estate agents plants the seeds for a global blockbuster.Subscribe to Observer+ on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to binge listen to the entire series on Tuesday 13th January.To find out more about The Observer:Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentHead to our website observer.co.uk Credits:Reporter - Chloe HadjimatheouAdditional reporting - James UrquhartProducer - Matt RussellArtwork: Observer design with acknowledgements to Angela HardingMusic supervision & sound design - Karla PatellaExecuti...
Raynor Winn’s memoir The Salt Path was a bestseller and literary phenomenon with millions of people captivated by this true story of financial ruin, terminal illness, and healing through nature. Raynor Winn has since published two more books and The Salt Path has been adapted for the big screen, starring Jason Isaacs and Gillian Anderson.At its heart it is a simple tale, of a couple embarking on a 630 mile trek in the face of stark adversity. When faced with nothing, they chose to walk.But when reporter Chloe Hadjimatheou received a tip-off that the memoir may not be the "unflinchingly hone...
After weeks of chasing him, Lydia finally speaks to Vitomir Maričić, the Croatian freediver at the heart of the scandal – and he tells his side of the story.Subscribe to Observer+ on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to binge listen to the entire series on Tuesday 18th November.To find out more about The Observer:Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentHead to our website observer.co.uk Reporter - Lydia Gard Producer - Gary Marshall. Music supervision and sound design - Karla PatellaSound design - Rowan BishopPodcast artwork - Lola Williams Fact checking - P...
An anti-doping officer tells Lydia that drugs are only considered a problem in freediving on social media, and in podcasts. She learns the problem is bigger, and more complex, and more corrupt, than she realised. Subscribe to Observer+ on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to binge listen to the entire series on Tuesday 18th November.To find out more about The Observer:Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentHead to our website observer.co.uk Reporter - Lydia Gard Producer - Gary Marshall. Music supervision and sound design - Karla PatellaSound design - Rowan...
The CEO of the United States Anti-Doping Agency – and the man who caught Lance Armstrong – has advice for Lydia. It’s not what she’s expecting.Subscribe to Observer+ on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to binge listen to the entire series on Tuesday 18th November.To find out more about The Observer:Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentHead to our website observer.co.uk Reporter - Lydia Gard Producer - Gary Marshall. Music supervision and sound design - Karla PatellaSound design - Rowan BishopPodcast artwork - Lola Williams Fact checking - Poppy Bullard, ...
Vertical Blue, 2023, the moment the doping scandal erupts. The competition organiser, William Trubridge, recounts his plan to catch the dopers – and Lydia investigates the fallout of a very controversial drugs bust.Subscribe to Observer+ on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to binge listen to the entire series on Tuesday 18th November.To find out more about The Observer:Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentHead to our website observer.co.uk Reporter - Lydia Gard Producer - Gary Marshall. Music supervision and sound design - Karla PatellaSound design - Row...
Lydia travels to Kalamata, Greece, a renowned freediving spot to investigate the doping allegations. What substances are athletes meant to be taking? And what are the risks – to them, and to the sport she loves?Subscribe to Observer+ on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to binge listen to the entire series on Tuesday 18th November.To find out more about The Observer:Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentHead to our website observer.co.uk Reporter - Lydia Gard Producer - Gary Marshall. Music supervision and sound design - Karla PatellaSound design - Rowan B...
Three years ago, travel writer Lydia Gard discovered freediving. An extreme and beautiful sport defined by one objective: to dive as deep as you can on one single breath. It soon became a calling. Then, she stumbled on a darker side of the sport. Rumours that a group of top divers were doping to go deeper.Subscribe to Observer+ on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to binge listen to the entire series on Tuesday 18th November.To find out more about The Observer:Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentHead to our website observer.co.uk Reporter - Lydia Gard Pr...
Three years ago travel writer Lydia Gard discovered freediving almost by accident. It’s an extreme and beautiful sport defined by one simple objective: to dive as deep as you can on one single breath. Record holders are now routinely diving to more than 120 metres, pushing the sport and their bodies to find out what’s humanly possible.Through her coach, Lydia was drawn into a small but fanatical community of competition athletes all united in their drive for depth, and that’s where she stumbled on a darker side of the sport. Rumours swirled that a group of top divers were doping to get deep...
Rachel Sylvester travels to Greece to investigate whether genetic science could change the story in the case of Roula Pispirigou – a mother who was convicted of killing her three young children just last year.Our thanks to The Francis Crick Institute for sharing recordings and insights. Reporter: Rachel SylvesterProducer: Gary MarshallMusic supervisor: Karla PatellaSound design: Rowan BishopPodcast artwork: Lola WilliamsExecutive producer: Basia CummingsThis episode is sponsored by The Life of Chuck. Join us across the UK for a preview screening on Wednesday 13 August, before it hits cinema...
Scientist Carola Vinuesa and her team test their extraordinary genetic discovery in a court of law.Our thanks to The Francis Crick Institute for sharing recordings and insights. Reporter: Rachel SylvesterProducer: Gary MarshallMusic supervisor: Karla PatellaSound design: Rowan BishopPodcast artwork: Lola WilliamsExecutive producer: Basia Cummings Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Kathleen Folbigg is just trying to survive. She’s a grieving mother, sentenced to life in jail for killing her four infant children. That is, until a small group of people start to question whether she might be the victim of a terrible miscarriage of justice.Our thanks to The Francis Crick Institute for sharing recordings and insights. Reporter: Rachel SylvesterProducer: Gary MarshallMusic supervisor: Karla PatellaSound design: Rowan BishopPodcast artwork: Lola WilliamsExecutive producer: Basia Cummings Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Journalist Rachel Sylvester investigates the case of 'Australia's worst serial killer'. And discovers, in a story about mothers who have been accused of murdering their own children, there is one man who connects them all: a doctor called Roy Meadow.Our thanks to The Francis Crick Institute for sharing recordings and insights. Reporter: Rachel SylvesterProducer: Gary MarshallMusic supervisor: Karla PatellaSound design: Rowan BishopPodcast artwork: Lola WilliamsExecutive producer: Basia Cummings Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Introducing...The Lab DetectiveKathleen Folbigg experienced unimaginable loss. All four of her infant children died suddenly, over a 10-year period. Their deaths were unexplained. Until a police detective turned up at her door, and arrested Kathleen on suspicion of murder. She was labelled ‘Australia's worst female serial killer’, convicted, and was destined to spend most of the rest of her life in jail. Until a different type of detective entered her life. A scientist working in a lab who uncovered the truth behind the deaths. This is the story of a shocking miscarriage of justice, but as ...
When Lucky Boy launched back in March, there was an important detail that didn't make it into the podcast, for legal reasons: the team had discovered that they weren’t the only people who had been investigating the allegations made by Gareth - the Metropolitan Police had been too. Now, reporter Chloe Hadjimatheou has an update.To find out more about The Observer: Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content head to our website observer.co.uk Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalistsIf you want to get in touch with u...
Sally Anne Bowen doesn’t want to speak about her relationship with Gareth, but it turns out there is a way of hearing her version of events. And after months of searching, Chloe gets a message from another ‘lucky boy’. You can find out more about Tortoise:Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalistsSubscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentBecome a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and moreIf you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you w...
Chloe hears from a former teacher who seems to support what Gareth believes - that there was a cover-up. And it’s still going on today.You can find out more about Tortoise:Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalistsSubscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentBecome a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and moreIf you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.comReported and produced by: Chloe Had...
Gareth is convinced that his memories are true and that there are plenty of witnesses who can corroborate his story, so why will no one help him? You can find out more about Tortoise:Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalistsSubscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentBecome a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and moreIf you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.comReported and produced by...
Gareth spent years believing he was a lucky boy. He was the 14-year-old who got the attention of the attractive young science teacher. Now, decades later, he wants the truth to come out about the damage it’s caused him. But his story is not straight forward. You can find out more about Tortoise:Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalistsSubscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentBecome a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and moreIf you want to get in touch with us directly about a story,...
Gareth’s whole life has been defined by a relationship he had 35 years ago when, as a 14-year-old schoolboy, he fell in love with an attractive young teacher at his school. He spent most afternoons in her bedroom and thought he was the luckiest boy in the world. But when she walked out of his life everything started to unravel. Lucky Boy is a new four-part series in which Chloe Hadjimatheou asks who gets to be a perpetrator and a victim.You can find out more about Tortoise:Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalistsSubscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcas...
When Donald Trump declared victory in the US presidential election, he told an adoring crowd that "a star is born". He was referring to Elon Musk.After months of reporting on the billionaire's use of private investigators, Alexi asks whether the insights he gained from that investigation reveal how Musk will operate in his new political era, and what that means for everything in his orbit.You can find out more about Tortoise:Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalistsSubscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentBecome a m...
To his surprise, Alexi finds himself speaking to a local reporter at the Gold Coast Bulletin in Australia. It’s not where he thought the story would take him but it reveals a new case involving Elon and his spies. You can find out more about Tortoise:Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalistsSubscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentBecome a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and moreIf you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want t...
When Martin Tripp worked at Tesla, he took the advice of his boss Elon Musk - if you discover a problem, tell me about it. But when Martin shares his concerns, his world begins to spiral out of control. You can find out more about Tortoise:Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalistsSubscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentBecome a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and moreIf you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear abou...
In 2018, Vernon Unsworth is at the centre of a global news story. He plays a crucial role in rescuing a young football team who became trapped in a flooded cave system. Overnight, he is a hero. But there’s a darker side of his story that’s less well known. That’s where Elon Musk and his private investigators come in. You can find out more about Tortoise:Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalistsSubscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentBecome a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and mor...